Intervention
by twi-ction
Summary: We all know that Jacob is pretty desperate to prevent Bella from turning into a vampire, but what lengths will he go to to make sure that it doesn't happen. What will happen when Bella's mortality and existence rests in the hands of Jacob Black? AU, PE
1. Chapter 1

Intervention: Chapter 1

"I'll be over later." I promised him. "I need to shower and pack an overnight bag first."

"So, Charlie is alright with Alice stealing you for the night?" Edwards glassy voice sounded just as appealing over the phone as it did in person.

"I haven't exactly asked him yet, but he has never held any opposition in the past. If he needs any more convincing, I'll just call for Alice to come get me."

"Alright, sweetheart." Edward's smile was audible through the phone, "I'll see you tonight. Put some use to that cell phone I gave you and call me if anything happens, okay?"

"Kay." I agreed, "I love you."

"I love you too, Bella." He responded. I waited a moment more until I heard the dial tone before hanging the phone back on the wall.

"Bells! Come down here a minute, I want to talk to you." Charlie's voice sounded impatiently from the floor below. Something in his tone alerted me to two possibilities. He either sounded like he was about to yell at me for something, or he was up to something that he knew I wouldn't like. My first fear was that he was about to jump into another well intended list of all of the reasons I shouldn't marry Edward, a scenario in which, if I was right, would make convincing him to let me go to the Cullen's tonight all that much more difficult.

Edward and I had only just broken the news to Charlie two weeks ago that we would be getting married. His face had cycled through nearly every color of the rainbow twice before he managed to sputter his firm forbiddance on the matter. Since then, I had been struggling with him day by day, slowly making progress, but not nearly enough for me to be comfortable living under his roof. I was afraid he was going to ship me away and not tell Edward where I was going in order to prevent this marriage. Of course, such actions would be completely moot considering the family he was trying to hide me from. Alice would be able to find me in no time, although, it was a concern that lately her visions of my future had been unclear. The haziness of my future annoyed her more than it should due to the fact that the wedding loomed only days ahead and she was desperate to know everything she could about the long awaited day before it arrived.

My mind was still racing through all of the potential new reasons that Charlie had organized to convince me not to marry Edward when I realized that the reason for his tone was not because he was about to yell at me, but he was up to something. Something terrible, in fact.

The first thing I saw when I walked into the kitchen was Jacob, towering a whole foot and then some over Charlie. Charlie was grinning stupidly, and I suddenly had the urge to run back up to my room. Whatever this was, it bode no well for me.

Charlie read the hesitation in my eyes and offered me a seat at the table before I could act on it. That was another bad sign, Charlie offering me the seat that I had come to know as "my seat" as if I needed an invitation to sit in it. This was too formal and I knew that nothing good could possibly come of this.

Jacob was just as against the wedding as Charlie was, a fact which had brought them closer through the past two weeks. Jacob's reasoning for his opposition were slightly different from Charlie's. Jacob didn't want me to marry Edward because: 1. For some ridiculous reason that I was still to wrap my head around, he was in love with me. And 2. Because he knew what Charlie didn't. He knew that after the wedding would come the moment when I would be changed into Edward's equal and leave him and Forks behind forever.

"What is it, dad?" I tried to throw as much impatience into my voice as possible as I reluctantly took a seat.

"You're going on a little trip with Jacob." He wasted no time in getting to the point.

"No, I'm not." I rebuked.

"Yeah, you are. You still haven't told Renee about the wedding, kiddo, and it's only 10 days away. Jake is going to escort you to Jacksonville so that you can tell her in person. Plus, I think that it would be a good idea for you to get away from here for a while… you know, clear your head."

My jaw dropped as I read the seriousness in his face.

"Plus," he added quietly, "Renee has more of a chance than I do to talk you out of this."

"Charlie Swan!" My voice mirrored my actions as I rose violently out of my chair, knocking it back onto the floor with a loud clattering noise. "You are not sending me with a babysitter to have Renee convince me not to get married! Do you even have any idea how absurd that is!? God, Charlie, what are you thinking!"

That was a mistake on my part. One thing he hated the most was when I addressed him as Charlie instead of Dad. His face revisited the different unnatural colors as his jaw visibly clenched.

"Isabella Marie Swan, you do not get to take that tone with me. You still reside under my roof and you will still abide by my rules, do you understand me?"

"Fine then, I'll just call Alice right now and move in with them if that's your only justificati-"

"My justification is the pure and simple fact that I am your father and you will do exactly what I tell you to!"

I may have been pushing my luck up until then, but I knew that now was the time to shut my mouth. It was rare for Charlie to ever be this angry, and when he was, nothing good could possibly result.

Jake chuckled lightly from his position across the table and both Charlie and I shot him a warning glance.

"Come on, Bells." Jake urged. "Just do what your father says."

My glare intensified as I regarded the twisted animal that used to be my best friend. I couldn't believe how cruel he was being. I knew that he didn't want me to marry Edward, but I had no idea that he would have gone to such lengths. I didn't know whether it was Charlie's idea or Jacob's, but something about Jake's smirk led me to believe that he had the biggest hand in it. What was truly the most annoying part about this was that Charlie had been blatantly opposed to me going to visit Renee with Edward months ago, and now, suddenly, he was so absorbed in the idea of endorsing Jacob as my travel buddy. He made no mystery who his ideal choice of companion was for his daughter, and I entertained no notion of hiding my anger. "Shut up, Jake." I growled.

"Isabella, go pack. Jake is leaving in ten minutes and you will be accompanying him."

I looked for a moment between Jake's cocky smirk and Charlie's set jaw before throwing my arms up and stomping out of the room, making it a point to kick the already over turned chair out of my way and slam my bedroom door before whipping out the cell phone that I was suddenly very thankful for.

"What's wrong?" Edward answered the phone breathlessly.

"Jake's convinced Charlie to let him take me to tell Renee about the wedding in person. I can't get out of it. I've never seen Charlie so angry. They're both hoping that Renee will talk me out of this."

"I'll be right over."

"No, Edward you can't. It's only supposed to be Alice at the house right now. If you show up, Charlie will know you weren't hunting and then I will definitely be in trouble. It should only take a day or two, and no matter what she says, I will not change my mind."

Silence.

"Edward, it will be fine, alright? So we don't get to spend tonight together, you can kidnap me in a couple of days. Hell, in 10 days you will never have to kidnap me again."

More silence.

"Edward?"

"I don't like this, Bella." His voice was hushed.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll call you when I get the-"

My promise was cut off by a pounding on the door. "Bella, come on, let's go! Who are you talking to?" Jacob interjected impatiently.

"Edward, I have to go. I love you, goodbye." I couldn't wait for a response, I snapped the phone shut and threw it into my backpack, followed closely by two sets of clothes. I figured that the less clothing I packed, the more obvious it would be that I was not intending on being away from Forks for long.

I zipped up my backpack and interrupted Jake's additional knock on the door by swinging the door open violently.

"You're an asshole, Jake." I spat at him as I stomped down the stairs.

I could almost feel the smugness radiating off of him as he followed me downstairs. I walked right past Charlie without issuing him a farewell and slammed the front door shut as I exited. Charlie and Jacob began conversing in hushed tones inside the kitchen, so I threw down my backpack and folded myself onto the porch. I fumed in silence as I rested my chin on my clenched fist, waiting.

Ten minutes later, speeding down the one oh one, I still hadn't spoken to Jacob again.

"Oh, come on, Bells. It's not that bad." He muttered.

"Why are you doing this, Jake? Do you honestly believe that I am going to change my mind about marrying the man that I am in love with just because you drag me to see my mother?"

"We aren't going to Jacksonville, Bella." His eyes burned into my own with sincere regret and anxiety.

"What do you mean we aren't going to….you said, Charlie said…"

I trailed off, staring at him wide eyed.

"Where are we going, Jacob?" I hissed through clenched teeth.

He returned his eyes to the road for a moment before shaking his head like a madman repeatedly. His brow furrowed and he suddenly looked much older.

"Jake, where are we going!" I repeated more urgently this time.

"I can't let him take you from me, Bella. I can't let him take your life…"


	2. Chapter 2

"Wait… you're… _kidnapping me_?" The words seemed so absurd as I said them, I knew that couldn't be the case.

"No… well, not exactly." Jake winced.

"Not exactly?! What does that mean?" I groaned

"Bella, you don't understand.. I can't just stand by and let you make a mistake like this. I can't let him steal your life from you."

"Is this really about my mortality, Jake, or is this just about you not wanting me to be with Edward instead of you."

"No, Bella, you're not hearing me right. If you want to marry Edward, I can handle that. It will be hard, yes, but I could deal with it as long as you are happy. I can't let you give up your humanity for him though. It would be going against my obligations as your best friend."

"You are no friend of mine at this particular moment in time, I promise you that!" I snapped. "Take me home, Jake, this is absurd."

"I'm not taking you home, Bella. I'm not letting you do this to your life."

My arguments from that point further seemed to fall on deaf ears. He ignored my protests for the next 5 hours until I finally decided to act on my anger instead of just voice it.

Remembering with a start my cell phone, I reached into the back seat and grabbed my backpack. "Stop the car." I ordered.

"No, Bella."

"Stop the car!" I shouted. He ignored me, so I took matters into my own hands

"Bells, what the hell do you think you're doing!?" He roared as I threw the door of the Rabbit open.

"I'm getting out." I yelled back. "And seeing as you seem so keen on keeping me alive, you might want to consider slowing down a little bit. It might make this easier.." It worked. With a great moan of exasperation, he pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and hopped out to follow me as I set off down the road, rummaging through my backpack as I did so.

"Bells, get back in the car." He pleaded

I ignored him and kept walking as I pulled my cell phone out of the bag and dialed Edward's number.

Jacob turned his back to me and threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"Bella, don't make this harder than it needs to be!" He grumbled.

"What is it?" Edward's voice echoed in my ear.

"Jacob's kidnapping me." I pouted

"Where are you?" His voice was suddenly angry.

"We're on -" Before I could finish giving him my location, Jacob was there. He crossed the distance between us in two quick strides and snatched the phone from my hand and snapped it shut.

"Get back in the car." He ordered as he pocketed my phone.

"Hey, give that back!" I protested wildly, reaching for my stolen cell phone.

"Car. Now." He demanded as he snatched my backpack from me and headed back to the car, expecting me to follow.

"UGH!" I groaned as I turned on my heel and began walking very pointedly in the other direction.

"Bella," He whined as he turned back to chase me, "Please cooperate."

"No." I growled.

"Fine then." He bent and scooped me into his arms and began walking back to the car.

"No!" I repeated as I beat my fists into his hard shoulder, an act that I knew would result in bruises for me, rather than him.

He set me back in the car, still fuming, and began driving again.

I stared at him with my jaw practically unhinged. He was serious about this, wasn't he? This wasn't just some joke.. He was actually kidnapping me!

"Are you… _serious?" I managed to choke out, "You're actually kidnapping me!?" I gasped, incredulous. _

"_I prefer to consider it as a friendly intervention, Bells" He winced. _

"_Well I prefer to consider this a crime! How could Charlie possibly be in on this!" _

"_He isn't." Jake grimaced as he spoke, anticipating the fury that he knew would come. _

"_Jacob Black, do you mean to tell me that Charlie actually believes that you are taking me to Jacksonville to see Renee when you really have no intention of doing so?" _

_He scrunched up his face in another wince and nodded. _

_My reaction seemed to shock him. His eyes widened and then contorted into a frown as I burst out in a hysteric fit of laughter. _

"_I don't see what the humor in this situation is, Bella." _

_I continued to laugh loudly at his stupidity for another moment until I managed to calm my breathing long enough to explain to him why this was so funny. _

"_You're kidnapping the Chief of police's daughter, Jake. Not to mention the fiance of a bunch of vampires who hate you enough already! How can you possibly expect to get away with this?! Sure you can keep me away for a couple of days, but I wont change my mind and when you bring me back - there is going to be hell to pay for you." I began giggling again at his lack of intelligence in the matter but stopped when I saw his nervous and uncomfortable stare._

"_What?" I shrugged. _

"_Bella… I'm not planning on taking you home."_

_My laughter stopped and my jaw dropped again. "Excuse me?" _

"_I'm not taking you home. Your leech family can't find you as long as you're with me, and we will be moving too fast for Charlie to locate us. You're kinda stuck with me now, Bells." _

"_Are you serious?" I squealed, slamming my fist onto the dashboard violently. "Jake, that's insane! What are you going to do, run around with me forever, until I die?? Is that your idea of saving my life? Sending me into an existence of running and keeping me away from the people I love!?" _

"_You love me." He muttered. _

_I stared at him again for a moment, speechless, trying to get a handle on my thoughts. _

"_What about Billy? Are you going to leave him? What about your pack, Jake? What about money? How are you going to keep enough money to sustain us… What am I going to eat, Jake?" _

_His expression gave away that he had not considered the answer to that question. "I am no wolf, you can't expect me to hunt for raw meat like you can!" I pointed out. _

"_Oh, I see." He rolled his eyes sarcastically, "So you would hunt for your food when Edward asks you to, but not me." _

"_You are being absolutely ridiculous! Take me home, now!" _

"_Bella, please don't piss me off." He warned through clenched teeth, "It would be very bad if I phased behind the wheel of a vehicle." _

_I abandoned my efforts for a moment and began considering my options for escape. He would have to stop for gas soon, his tank was nearly empty. I could tell him that I had to go to the bathroom, and then beg the store clerk to let me use his phone to call Edward. I would have just banked on calling the police, but they wouldn't be able to track Jacob like Edward would, and they didn't exactly know what they were up against, either. If that didn't work, Jacob would have to sleep sometime. I could sneak away while he was unconscious and find the nearest city or home and use their phone. Of course, the moment I would be able to get a far enough distance from him Alice would find me. I knew that even if he wanted to, he couldn't keep this up for long. He couldn't have enough money for gas and food, and he couldn't expect me to live in his car for the rest of my life. Sooner or later he would have to give up on this charade. _

_I hoped that Edward would have gone straight to Charlie before he came looking for me. At least that way Charlie would know that Jake had kidnapped me right away instead of four days from now when he called Renee and found out that we hadn't even arrived in Jacksonville. _

"_Oh, damn. I need gas." He frowned. Finally, attempt one at escape was just around the corn-…_

_My thought process was smashed immediately as he pulled the car over to the side of the road. This was hardly a gas station.. _

_He circled around to the back of the car, eying me suspiciously as he moved. _

"_Don't even think about running, Bella. I can catch you." Damn it. _

_My first idea for escape was out of the running as soon as he pulled out a large red gas can from the back of his car. That would explain why the car smelled so strongly of gasoline. I wondered how many cans of gas he had stored back there. Probably enough to the point where I would get the chance to try my second method of escape before we had to stop in a civilized location for gasoline, though, by the look of this road that we had turned onto - I doubted that any building found here could be considered as 'civilized'. _

_-- Edward's Point of View --_

"_Jacob's kidnapping me." _

"_Where are you?" I snapped._

"_We're on-" Her response was cut off and before the call ended I heard Jacob's low, gruff voice order her to get back in the car followed by her cry of protest, "Hey, give that back!" _

_I snapped my phone shut and growled a long list of expletives followed by "Alice, come here!" _

_The tone of my voice was such that it gained the attention of not only Alice, but of the entire household. In a matter of seconds, my family had gathered in it's entirety to stare at me wide-eyed and afraid. _

"_What is it, Edward?" Esme questioned. _

"_Is it Bella?" Alice added, knowing full well that the only thing that could have gotten me this worked up was if Bella was in danger. _

"_Yes." I growled, "Jacob has her." _

"_Oh. Well that's alright then. It explains why I haven't been able to see her for the last couple of-"_

"_No, Alice. It's not alright, he kidnapped her!" I regretted immediately raising my voice, Alice hadn't done anything wrong. _

_A shocked gasp rumbled throughout the family. _

"_Where are they?" Emmett growled. _

_I proceeded to explain my conversation with Bella moments before, my words causing expressions of fury and rage to twist their faces. _

_I was shocked when Rosalie was the first one to come up with comprehensible speech after that. _

"_Well we have to do something! Alice, go to Charlie and explain what has happened. Esme and Carlisle, call the airlines and head down to Jacksonville, just in case. Emmett and I will go have a pleasant chat with the rest of the pack and see If they can or are willing to offer us any assistance or at the very least a location. Jazz, you go with Edward and start tracking them from Bella's house. Why are you all staring at me like that!? Move!" _

_I was incredulous. Rosalie, out of all of us, had been the least enthused with Bella's presence in our family, so why now did she seem so concerned? _

"_MOVE!" she repeated, snapping us all out of our gaping stares. No one questioned Rosalie when she used that tone. We did exactly as she had recommended and we didn't argue about it. _

_Jasper and I left immediately. The only vehicle not being used was the Guardian that I had bought Bella before the wedding. I was planning on giving that to her when she showed up tonight… I shook the thought out of my head and found that I was already speeding out of the driveway, tearing up clouds of gravel and dirt behind me. Jasper and I beat Alice to the Swan residence, but it wouldn't have been a good thing for Charlie to see either of us there. He believed that we were both camping at that moment. We parked down the street and sprinted to the front of the house. Bella's scent mixed with Jacob's potently in the air . I ordered Jasper back to the Guardian and he followed me as I ran, not caring who saw me, in the direction of Bella's scent. _

_I jumped back into the vehicle as we reached the one oh one and sat impatiently as we doubled the speed limit and raced forward, only stopping occasionally to make sure that we still had the scent. _

_The smell grew stronger and stronger gradually until suddenly - "Shit, I lost it. No, no, no. Their scent is gone!" I howled. We doubled back and began searching for any signs of Jacob's exit from this road when my phone rang. _

_Alice, the display on the front of my phone showed brightly. _

_I snapped the lid on the phone open and Alice began talking quickly before I had even greeted her. _

"_It took some convincing, but Charlie believes me finally. He is filing a missing persons report as we speak and then he'll be looking for her too… not that he actually has a chance of finding her before us. Carlisle and Esme said the airport had no record of a Jacob Black or Bella Swan boarding a flight to Jacksonville and Renee had no knowledge about their visit either. I haven't heard from Rose and Emmett yet, but I'll let you know if I do. How's your progress going?" _

"_Not well. We followed them up the one oh one for about two hours and we just lost the scent. We're doubling back right now. I'll keep in touch. "_

_I snapped the phone shut again and pocketed it swiftly. _

_Contrary to my anxiety, I felt a semi-effective calm creep over me. "Relax, Edward." Jasper pleaded. _

_I clenched my jaw for a moment before I responded - "That dog is dead when I catch up to him." _


	3. Chapter 3

"Jake, find somewhere to stop. I have to go to the bathroom."

"I'm not stupid, Bella. I'll pull over here. I'm not giving you the chance to cry wolf," He grinned.

"I am not going to the bathroom on the side of the road."

"Fine then, here's an empty bottle, go at it."

"You're disgusting, Jake. Find somewhere with the convenience of plumbing, will ya." My request for a bathroom was the first time I had spoken to him since he threatened me with phasing.

By my, though likely flawed, calculations, Edward shouldn't be too far behind us by now. We had been on the road for 12 hours straight now. Jake was only speeding 15 miles over the limit, and I had alerted Edward to the situation 6 hours ago. What with their speeding, they shouldn't be far behind us now.. Unless… The thought of Edward losing my trail sent a shiver through me. I didn't want to get any farther away from Forks with Jacob than I had to.

"Jake, can I have my phone. I would like to at least tell Charlie that I'm okay."

"No, he wont know that you're not in Jacksonville for another couple of days."

"Oh, honestly, Jake. Edward already knows what you're doing. I'm sure that someone has told Charlie by now."

"I really wish you wouldn't have called him. I should have known you had a phone." He shook his head disgustedly. "That really makes this much more difficult than it needs to be."

"Well excuse me for making the crime of kidnapping difficult. My mistake. How thoughtless of me." I rolled my eyes sarcastically.

Silence set in again as I fumed through my attempts at constructing a plan of escape. The silence, like my thought process, was soon broken by an unhealthy noise from beneath the hood of the Rabbit. As we noticed it, it was coupled with the stench of exhaust fumes and a billow of black smoke rolling out from under the hood.

"Damn it!" Jacob cussed.

I smiled discreetly, recognizing this as another chance to escape.

"We don't have time for this." He scowled as he whipped the car off onto the shoulder of the road. In one defined movement he was out of the car and rummaging in the trunk. He pulled out a large duffle bag and slammed the trunk shut, appearing a split second later at my door.

"Come on." He grumbled.

I grabbed my backpack and grudgingly climbed out of the car. Without hesitation, he swept my feet out from under me and caught me in his arms. Before I could protest, he was running.

Running with Jacob was much different than running with Edward. My head jerked up and down with each long stride, and the heat.

"Jake, what are you doing?" I scowled between bounces.

"I don't have the time to fix the car. If you wouldn't have called Edward, I might have had the time to." He said pointedly.

"Oh, so now this little hike through the woods is my fault? Jake… this is all unnecessary. Just take me ho - ooooh, I have to go to the bathroom. This is not helping." I complained.

"Fine, Bella. Go to the bathroom. Hurry." He grumbled as he set me down on my feet.

I glared at him for a moment before stomping away through the forest, not stopping until I was far enough away from him.

"Ugh, this is so disgusting." I complained to myself. Suddenly, a thought entered my mind. I was already several yards or more away from him… Without considering the repercussions, I ran. I took off at a dead sprint, knowing that I wouldn't be able to get away from him, but hoping desperately that I could get far enough away for Alice to at least catch a glimpse of me. Of course, I realized all too late, it wouldn't really help them find me if all the help I could give them was a brief image of me running aimlessly through a forest.

"Ouch." I mumbled as I tripped on a rock and went sprawling haphazardly across the forest floor.

"Bella, Bella, Bella." Jacob's voice approached me from behind. "I told you not to try to run, didn't I?"

My only response was another glare as he lifted me back into his arms and began running again.

"I'm hungry." I complained, bound and determined to make this journey as difficult as possible for him as I could.

--Edward's Point of View--

"Alice, what is it?"

"I saw her! Edward I saw her!" She squealed, "She managed to get away from Jacob for just enough time for me to get a small glimpse of her. Edward, you're not going to like this…" She trailed off. "They're in a forest somewhere. Have you found their trail yet?"

"Yeah, we just did. They took a side road that I didn't even know existed. The scent is faint now, but we're going as fast as we can. "

"Okay, please hurry, Edward. She looked so scared."

"I'm hurrying, Alice, I'm hurrying." How could she think that I wasn't hurrying? "Did you talk to Rose?"

"Yes, I almost forgot. The pack took some convincing at first, but eventually Rose convinced them to phase back to their human form because they meant them no harm. They said that they had no idea that Jacob would do something like that, but it made sense because as it turns out, the mutt had been refusing to phase for the last week or so. They figure that he didn't want to phase so that they couldn't see what he was planning. He hasn't phased yet since he's taken her either. He's being very careful about this, but Sam promised Rose that he would let us know the moment he does."

I focused momentarily on breathing and calming my nerves as Alice spoke.

"Edward, they're on our side. That's a good thing."

"I should never have let this happen." I hissed through my clenched teeth.

"Edward, you can not blame yourself for this." Alice scolded, "It's going to be fine… we're going to find her."

I knew without asking that she was only assuming. Alice had never been more unsure in her life, and the tone of her voice betrayed that it was absolutely killing her.

"If anything happens to her…" I threatened myself idly.

"Don't think about that right now. Just focus on finding her."

I was about to respond when a glint of light drew my attention to the side of the road.

"Jazz, pull over here." I instructed, "Alice, I'll talk to you later."

I jumped out of the car as I pocketed the phone again.

"What's that?" Jasper questioned as I picked up the object that had caught my attention.

"Bella's CD player." I responded. "They must have been here, but…. Why would this be left on the side of the road?"

Immediately, numerous scenarios played through my mind at top speed, none of which bode well for my Bella. I could almost hear her screams echoing through my mind. I winced reflexively and forced myself to push the negative thoughts from my mind and refocus on the task at hand.

I surveyed every ounce of available atmosphere with my senses.

"They were here." I confirmed.

"About 7 hours ago, I think." Jasper added.

I nodded and quickly resumed my seat in the vehicle as we sped off down the road again, kicking up a cloud of dirt and gravel in our wake.

"Damnit." I cursed. "Smells like rain."

Sure enough, moments later, tiny, foreboding droplets of rain spattered across the windshield. This was going to make it harder to track them.

Time ticked by slower than it had any right to as we sped at a blinding pace down the mud-ridden road. Bella's scent lingered at the edge of my senses, pressing me forward and sending fresh waves of panic through my every limb at regular intervals. Minutes turned into hours at a agonizing pace and I found myself tapping my fingers impatiently on the dashboard.

"Edward, cut it out. I don't think Carlisle is going to want to replace that.." Jasper warned.

I glanced down at the dashboard to see four indents in the hard plastic where my fingers had worn through the tough exterior.

"Oops." I grimaced.

He caught my gaze, then, and mirrored the anxiety and worry almost perfectly. He wanted to find Bella almost as desperately as I did, I knew. The thought that I wasn't alone in my quest calmed me slightly, or maybe Jasper was doing that on purpose.

"Thank you." I murmured.

His only response was a brief nod before he turned back to the road.

I continued to stare at him, his brow tight over his worried eyes, the muscles in his arms tense as he gripped the steering wheel, his foot pressing the accelerator down as far as it could go.

A sharp intake of breath from his direction drew me out of my reverie, I raised my gaze to see his arm extended over the dashboard, pointing. I followed the direction of his index finger, and the breath caught in my throat as well.

The scent was very faint in the air, but something told me that the scent would be stronger inside of the abandoned Rabbit alongside the road.


	4. Chapter 4

"Jake. You know you can't keep this up for much longer. You have to sleep sometime… you're at a disadvantage. Stop being a moron."

But just like every other time I had tried to talk any amount of sense through his apparently impenetrable skull, he ignored me and pressed forward into the woods.

"Let me rephrase that. _I_ need to sleep, Jake."

"Then sleep." He growled.

"I can't sleep while you're running. And I'm warm." I pouted.

"Well I'm sorry that I can't be as cold or as smooth as your blood sucker, alright? At least _I_ give a damn about your mortality, though."

"Oh my God." I scowled, "We've been through this, Jacob. Edward doesn't want this, I do."

He scowled again, clearly biting back the stream of angry words that built up behind his calm façade whenever I mentioned my decision.

I glared at him with unrelenting anger emanating from my every pore. At first I had just considered this endeavor of his as childish, but now it was bordering on maniacal. As I burned into him with my stare, my focus was interrupted by tiny droplets of water rolling down my cheeks. At first, I cursed myself for my tendency to cry when I was angry, but then I realized that the water was in fact coming from the sky. As if to confirm, a large roll of thunder sent my heart plummeting into my stomach. The rain would undoubtedly wash away my scent. If I had been walking, I would have been touching everything I could have in order to concrete my scent into the woods, but as it was, Jacob wouldn't let me down. His scent alone, I knew, was distinct enough… but Edward wasn't nearly as attuned to it as he was to mine.

Looking up at Jacob, I could tell that he had recognized the rain as much more of a blessing than I had. A smirk that I guessed was supposed to be discreet slowly crept over his face as a new surge of speed sent us deeper into the darkening forest. I wanted so much to be able to punch him right now, but the mortality that he so desperately sought to preserve also conveniently prevented him from my wrath… physically, at least. My words could still damage him.

"I hate you." I bit out. I didn't entirely mean it, but with each step further that he placed between myself and my fiance, I was beginning to loathe him more.

"As long as you're alive, I don't care how you feel about me." He smirked.

My glare narrowed. The rain began to come down harder, in thick sheets. I had to do something, but with him holding me carefully above the ground, there wasn't much I could do to place my scent as any guide markers for Edward. Or… was there?

Hoping that my own nose wouldn't be able to catch the scent, I threw my hands over my head in a gesture meant to be taken as exasperation, and then let one dangle at my side before digging my nails as deeply as I could into my palm until I felt the warm blood trickle off and land into the muddy earth.

I relaxed then, smiling to myself internally but retaining the same vicious glare as the trees continued to blur past me.

--EPOV--

"The scent is old and faint here." Jasper frowned. "I think we're much further behind than we thought, Edward." His realization was coupled with a crippling wave of anxiety and worry.

"Jasper, do you mind. I'm already worried enough." I pointed out.

"Sorry." He winced, following up his apology with a counteracting wave of confidence that I knew was entirely false.

I surveyed the scene with great chagrin for a moment before Jasper spoke again.

"We need help, Edward. We'll never catch them."

"I know." I whispered, burying my face in my shaking hands for a moment before sending a metal denting kick into side of Jacob's car causing a sound much like thunder to roll through the surrounding area. I wasn't worried about human ears hearing it, it was raining harder now anyways and storms normally came equipped with thunder.

"Jasper… call Alice in for back up. Take the car and circle around the forest and see if there is a road on the other side. Try to find their scent and have Alice meet you there. I'll track them on foot."

He was about to protest, but I cut him off. "Please, Jasper. Just do it."

With a supportive pat on the back he was gone.

I stood, momentarily stunned by my current predicament before the rage consumed me. I curled my hands into tight fists and with a roar of rage, took off into the forest.

The scent was present, but growing weaker by the minute. I relied mainly on my visual observance, focusing on footprints and broken limbs. It was a much slower way to track, but it was my best chance. I ran as fast as my senses would allow, the image of Bella, scared and with only the company of that dog fueled me and pushed me ever deeper into the woods. Minutes turned into hours at an agonizing rate. Soon, I had to rely completely on my sense of sight alone as the scent of Bella and Jacob both had been entirely washed away by the rain that was still falling in heavy sheets.

"Bella, Bella, where are you..?" I groaned as I easily cleared a small tree from my path with one shattering blow and leapt across a stream quickly. Bella's scent was present, then. All of the sudden, as if he had set her down briefly. It was weak. If I hadn't been so attuned to it, I wouldn't have noticed it at all. Had it not been for my endless hours of burying my face in her hair at night while she slept, I may have overlooked this checkpoint in my journey. It didn't take long for me to realize that this was where she had managed to get away from him for an instant and allow Alice to see her.

There, in the clearing where she had stood 6 and a half hours prior, I fell to my knees clutching at my hair like a madman as I let out a loud sob. I had to find her. I needed her back with me. Every nerve ending in my body felt like it was on fire. My thoughts swirled in a loud mass in my head, threatening to overcome me and threatening my sanity.

Where were they? He had to sleep sometime… right? They both had to eat… How on earth could they have gotten this far ahead. Without realizing what I was doing, I lifted a huge boulder in one hand and shattered it against another. I was about to repeat the action when my cell phone vibrated violently in my pocket.

"What?" I snapped.

"Edward, you can't lose your head now." Alice's voice was calm despite her obvious anxiety. "Calm down and keep going."

Of course Alice would be keeping tabs on me. She couldn't see Bella, so watching my progress in finding her was the best she really had at this moment.

"I know, Alice." I snarled.

"I just left home to meet Jazz, Edward. You have to find her, the entire family is going insane. Emmett and Rosalie left too to begin searching a different area of the woods. Carlisle has been pouring over maps upon maps of the area that Jazz said they went into, and Esme hasn't stopped sobbing since they left the airport, and... you have to find her."

"I know that, Alice!" I bit out harshly. I was already stressed to the breaking point as it was, I didn't need her to cement anything for me.

I snapped the phone shut and tore off through the trees again as I began calculating in my head the chances of finding her in the next 24 hours. Alice and Jasper would be searching the northern corners of the woods, Rose and Emmett would be taking the Western corners, and I was coming from the southeast. Depending on how far ahead Jacob had managed to get, we may be able to trap him in the next 6 to 9 hours… that is if he stops to rest.

As I ran deeper and deeper into the woods, I began to question what lengths Jacob would go to to prevent my Bella from coming my wife. But then, was that really his purpose at all? Was he more intent on keeping her from becoming a vampire? To what extent would he be willing to go to do so… If he caught our scent, would he kill her? I didn't want to believe that he would. He was her best friend… and friends wouldn't do that. But on that same token, friends wouldn't kidnap a friend days before her wedding and plan on never bringing her back.

The rain loosened and eventually stopped falling altogether. Suddenly, a distant roll of thunder caught my attention. There hadn't been any thunder during that storm… the only noise close was my own destruction upon the forest. My mind jumped to Alice and Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett.. Could they already be close enough for me to be able to hear… what? What did I hear? What did they do?

I reached for my phone to call Alice, but a vibration stopped me short. The LCD screen on the front of it lit up, illuminating the gray misty environment of the woods with four words that sent my lifeless heart racing.

"Take Call from Bella"


	5. Chapter 5

"This is completely absurd." I grumbled pointedly as he retrieved the key from his pocket to unlock the uncomfortable set of handcuffs that had prevented my escape through the 4 hours that he had allowed himself for sleep.

"I'm not stupid Bella. All you would need is a few moments to get away from me so that your pixie could catch a glimpse of you and then everything that I have gone through to protect you for this long will be for nothing."

"It's already for nothing, Jake! I called him. He's looking for me. You can't out run the entire Cullen fami-"

"That's not the point!" His voice boomed through the trees, sending birds scattering haphazardly into the air as their peace and serenity was abruptly shaken by the largest of predators. "The point…" His chest heaved as he struggled to maintain composure, "The point is not to out run then. The point is to talk some sense into you.:

"Jake, I don't need any sense talked into-"

"Obviously you do!" He roared, catching me off guard and rendering me momentarily speechless.

"Do you have any idea at all… the… the _magnitude_ of this decision, Bella? Do you even realize what you are giving up?"

"Yes, Jake… I've thought about it. I.."

"You would give up everything for him? Your mother, your father… me? Jessica, Mike… your friends.. What about the pack, Bella? When he left you.."

"That was just a misunderstanding. He only left beca-"

"Because he wanted to protect you." He mocked, "Don't give me that bullshit, Bella."

"It's not bullshit! He loves me!"

"Not enough to let you live."

"He loves me more than you ever could!" I regretted the words as soon as I spoke them, but it was too late now. Jacob's face grew red and his hands clenched and unclenched as he hissed a response through gritted teeth.

"He could _never_ love you more than I do."

"He loves me enough to let me make my own decisions. He loves me enough so that he wants me to be happy no matter what."

"I love you enough to want you alive."

"I'll still be alive, Jake! I know it doesn't seem like it, but I'll still be Bella. Just… able to take care of myself more."

He didn't speak, but continued to clench and unclench his fists.

"What, Jake? Are you afraid I will be able to kick your ass?" I joked, trying to lighten the intensely uncomfortable atmosphere that had descended upon us.

"This is no laughing matter, Bella! This is your life! Why are you just throwing it away!" He roared, negating entirely my attempt at humor.

"I'm not throwing anything away! I'll still be there! You can still-"

"I wont want anything to do with you if that were to happen. You would be dead to me."

His words, though mentioned before in different context, stung me. I took a step back, shocked, and wrapped my arms around myself in a vane attempt to stay together.

"As soon as Edward catches up to us, _you_ will be dead to _me_." I ground out as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"If Edward catches up to us, _he_ will be the only thing around here that dies." He spoke the words with such conviction that I couldn't doubt his sincerity. He meant it. If Edward found us, it would result in a battle that would not end until one of them was dead.

All this over me…

I had no desire to let the two of them fight over me, but I also knew that as a frail and weak human, nothing I could do would stop them. I might have hated Jacob with every fiber of my being at the present moment, but I didn't want him dead. I could never want him dead, especially because of me. But there was no way that I could agree to stay this frail human that I was.

"It's reasons like this that makes me want to be a vampire." I whispered.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He growled.

"If I were a vampire, you wouldn't be able to do this to me!" I shouted. "If I were a vampire, you wouldn't be able to treat me like I'm some kind of a doll who can't think for itself. If I weren't a human, you couldn't stop me from making my own goddamned decisions and you couldn't pretend that you were God and rule my life. I am perfectly capable of deciding my own future and I am well prepared to deal with the consequences, you prick! Take me home!" I may have overdone the dramatics a little bit, but my words seemed to be the only form of defense… or offense, for that matter, that I had.

"You can handle the consequence of losing me?" He whispered, obviously hurt. I didn't care, I wasn't about to start trying to preserve his feelings.

"If you think that kidnapping me was going to make it any harder for me to leave you, your nuts. I've never been more sure of my decision, thanks to you."

That was it. A low growl rumbled in Jake's throat before ripping from his mouth and echoing around the forest. His body began to quake and I knew immediately what I had done would have dire consequences.

-- Jacob's POV… (oh yeah, I went there.)--

The familiar ripping noise filled my ears as my clothing fell into a shredded heap around me. My body burned with the intensity of my fury and my vision blurred. Bella was no longer a human to me, she was a monster whose words had cut me so deep and destroyed my dignity to the point where she needed to be punished for it. A small part of my brain screamed at me to think this through and not hurt her, but my instinct had taken over. Suddenly, and without warning, I was Sam, and she was Emily.

Without thinking about it, I leapt. I felt the muscles in my hind legs contract with all the power of a semi truck at top speed and I was airborne, my bared teeth aimed right at her throat. She winced as I neared her and threw her body haphazardly onto the ground. I snarled in fury as my teeth snapped barely inches away from her head as she ducked my attack. Instead, I smashed head first into the rock wall behind her with a large crash. I landed, momentarily discoordinated, on my back and listened to the barely audible sound of thousands of cracks and fissures spreading up the face of the rock wall until they ended at the top.

_Shit_ I thought to myself as the mass of boulders and earth cemented together over the years began to disassemble piece by piece in front of my eyes. With a massive groan, the wall collapsed before I could react, burying myself and Bella beneath the rubble.

It only took me moments to claw my way out. As soon as I was safely out, I phased back into my human form as quickly as I could. The use of my appendages were necessary to find Bella.

Oh my God.

Bella.

What had I done?

With a howl of devastation, I began tearing my way through the rocks, sending them crashing against distant trees in my efforts to uncover Bella.

"Bella? Bells!?" I shouted, hoping desperately that she would answer, or give me some sign that she was still alive.

Oh, God.

What if I killed her. What if the very life that I had kidnapped her to preserve had now been distinguished because of that… because of me.

Finally, I found her. All that was visible of Isabella Swan was her limp hand dangling lifelessly from beneath a pile of rubble.

"Bella! Oh no, Bella, Bella!? NO!" I wailed as I clawed my way through the rocks until her body was uncovered. She was riddled with a mass of scratches and blood and she made no reaction as I lifted her and carried her to a clearing.

As I lay her down, my eyes blurred with tears and my hands shook with fear and rage at myself. What had I done?

I grabbed her wrist, maybe a little bit too harshly and felt for a pulse.

No. Where was it? Where was her pulse!?

I swooped down to lay my head on her immobile chest. She wasn't breathing… and her heart wasn't beating.

"NO! Bella!" I howled as I began pushing down on her chest in a rhythmic pattern. I focused on making sure that my attempts at reviving her didn't cause her any broken bones, hoping desperately that that would matter. At regular intervals, I pressed my lips onto hers and breathed oxygen into her lungs. How ironic that the very lips that I had always longed to kiss were now the only way to keep her alive. If she were alive, she would have no doubt been pushing, punching, kicking… anything she could to keep my lips off of her. But she didn't move. She remained as lifeless as ever.

I kept at it.

For a solid minute I pumped oxygen into her lungs and forced a rhythm into her heart until finally, it was there. The faint and uneven thumping in her chest that signified life. A weak heart, but still… a heart.

The heartbeat was uneven, but self-sustaining. Her chest rose and fell in nuancial movements. And her face was pale and painfully inert.

She wouldn't last long…

She was dying.

* * *

a/n: I know that I am hardcore into the clifhangers in this fiction, and I apologize.

my focus isn't what it should be lately, I'm very distracted.

but, I am only human, so the more reviews I get, the happier I am. so please, click the button and let me know how I'm doing.


	6. Chapter 6

_EPOV_

"Take Call from Bella?"

I blinked once, twice. Looked again.

"Take Call from Bella?"

My long idle heart jumped to life and my hand shook violently as I flipped open the phone and held it to my ear.

"Bella?"

Silence on the other end. I strained my ears, trying desperately to hear anything that would tell me that my Bella was alive and well.

"Bella, sweetheart, are you alright?" I pressed.

What I heard then was not Bella. It was Jacob. But instead of a fiery rage building up within me, his voice made my heart drop clear into my stomach.

Jacob was sobbing.

"Edward?" He whimpered

"What did you do?" I snarled, all the accusation and rage I could muster backing my every syllable.

"I… It was an accident." Was all I could hear. The rest of Jacob's speech from then on was slurred and made incomprehensible by his sobs.

"WHERE ARE YOU!?" I bellowed.

Silence.

"Jacob, now is not the time for this bullshit of trying to keep her from me. I don't know what you did to her and I don't care right now. All I care about is getting to her as fast as possible. Where are you!"

A pause… then, "Were just south of interstate-11.. Probably about three miles out."

I was about to scream at him again, but I knew that now wasn't the time. I snapped the phone shut and began running, knowing full well that the information he had given me wasn't nearly specific enough to lead me directly to them. All the rage and fear in the world powered my every step. Sobs wracked my body and clouded my mind. Some part of me knew… just by the tone of his voice that she was dead. If I had only been able to find her faster… I shouldn't have let this happen. I shouldn't have left her alone for a second the moment Alice said she couldn't find her future. This may have been brought on by the stupidity of a mutt, but I would never stop blaming myself for not preventing it. My wife… dead because I failed to protect her. I knew what would happen before I had even carried it out. I would find Bella, kill Jacob, bring her body back to Charlie, and then go to Italy. I had done it once before, and I would do it again. This time, I wouldn't ask them to kill me first. I wouldn't waste the time. I would walk straight into the sunlight and wreak havoc and destruction on their precious, oblivious town until they had no choice but stop me by force. I would not be far behind Bella.

Another stream of sobs overtook me, but instead of stopping to steady myself against a tree, I ran faster. Blinded by my own rage and agony, I stumbled through the brush, shattering any tree that dare stand in my way. My phone rang again, but I ignored it and pressed on. It was probably Alice trying to ask me what was wrong. I couldn't tell her that Bella was dead. Not yet. The sooner she knew, the faster she would react and try to prevent me from going to Volterra. I ignored call after call until finally, she texted me.

Grudgingly, I whipped out my phone and stared down at the four words that redefined my race against time.

_She's not dead yet._

As soon as I had read them, Alice called again. I answered this time, still running full speed towards the interstate.

"Embry called, Edward. Jake phased and caused a rockslide which buried Bella. She had no pulse and she wasn't breathing but he revived her. She is alive, but she wont live for long. We're on our way Edward, but you're the only one who can make it to her in time to-"

I snapped the phone shut. I had heard all I needed to.

My legs flew out beneath me, sending me flying over the foliage of the forest at a blinding pace. I was no longer fueled by my hatred and desire for revenge, I was fueled by the determination to save the only thing in this existence worth living for. I would deal with Jacob later, right now, I had to save my Isabella.

"Hold on, Bella. Hold on, love, I'm coming." I repeated to myself. I couldn't smell them at all, I was blindly running through the forest searching for a needle in a haystack. The one and only chance to save my life and the life of my beloved.

Suddenly, an overpowering perfume hit me like a bag of bricks. I skidded to a halt, smelling. Blood. But not just any blood. Blood that smelled of the sweetest floral scent that could possibly exist. Bella's blood. For a moment of pure exhilaration, I thought that I was getting close to them. It took me only a moment to realize that the blood was not fresh. Bella, the smart, intuitive girl that she was… is… had done the only thing she could think of to help me find her. Silently praising whatever higher power there was in this world, I sped off in the direction of the scent, following the thinning trail and swallowing back the venom that I hoped I wouldn't be too late to use in the process of saving her life. With Bella's scent fresh in my mind, their exact location was easy to determine. Faster, still, I ran until finally, another scent mingled with Bella's. A scent that caused a snarl to rip from my throat in between the still present chain of sobs. Dog.

Above the tree's just ahead of me rose a cloud of dust. I knew without question that the dust must have been from the rockslide that had buried my fiance and sealed Jacob's fate. I skidded to a halt as I entered the clearing. Jacob was clinging to Bella's limp and marred body, tears rolling off of his cheeks and smearing the dirt on her face in wet lines. I had never seen Bella so vacant of life. Not even in my worst nightmares in which I had been the monster to threaten her existence.

My breath caught in my throat and Jacob's head snapped forward as he heard me. He captured my furious gaze for a moment with his own regretful and terrified eyes before finally whispering.

"You have to save her."

I suddenly became dizzy as a cavalcade of Jacob's thoughts invaded my mind.

_How could I do this... What have I done? I never meant to hurt her, I only wanted to protect her. I thought she would be safer with me than with him, but now he's the only one that can save her. I don't want her to be cold and dead like him, but she's already cold and nearly dead because of my own stupidity… what have I done?_

I could tell that he had spent a lot of time agonizing over whether or not to call me. Letting Bella die here on the cold hard earth would be no different to him than if he were to allow her to become his enemy, but for some reason he had called me.

"You did the right thing by calling me, Jacob Black." I grimaced as a wave of panic overtook me. Bella's blood was much stronger here, and though I would have liked nothing more than to direct every swear word I could think of at him followed by a detailed description of how I would kill him, I knew I was going to need his help.

"I'm going to need you to help me, Jake."

His eyes widened in shock as I approached him.

I ignored his repulsed expression as I knelt next to him and lifted Bella's limp body into my own arms. Her body was void of it's pleasant warmth and pink coloring. Her heart beat faintly and unevenly, threatening to halt all together.

She was dying, fast.

I calculated that her heart wouldn't continue beating for much longer… I had to act now.

Fear consumed every fiber of my being as I stared down at the quickly ailing Bella. I knew what I had to do, but I had never expected to have to do it so soon. I wasn't prepared for this. This was not the way it was supposed to happen.

I suddenly had to fight another urge to knock Jacob out.

"What's wrong? Save her!" He instructed anxiously.

"I need you to help me Jacob. This isn't easy for me to do. I could… kill her. I might not be strong enough to stop once I taste her blood."

_Disgusting_ He thought, but his face remained terrified and wide-eyed.

"Don't let me take too much of her blood." I ordered as I lowered my face towards her neck.

"Wait! What are you doing!?" Jacob yelped. "I thought you were supposed to bite her… wrist." He gulped.

"It will take less time for the venom to reach her heart if I do it this way."

Every thought in Jacob's brain mirrored my own, screaming for me to stop… to find another way, but he also knew, as I did, that this was the only way. I almost felt bad for him for a split second. He was so conflicted and it was taking everything in his power to not attack me as my teeth closed in around her neck. I took a deep breath and focused my thoughts before sinking my deadly teeth into her tender, lifeless flesh.

Jacob took in a deep breath as he watched, and soon I realized that his help was unnecessary. I had thought that she was dead already once today, and there was no way that I was going to allow myself to face that fear again. I shut down my body and all of my senses, only leaving my teeth in her neck for long enough for the venom to seep through the puncture wounds. I didn't drink from her… I didn't want to. I just wanted her to stay alive.

Suddenly, Jacob was on his feet. I surveyed the air with my senses to determine what had alerted him, only to be crippled by the antagonizing scent of the blood that I had just denied myself of. Alice's voice rang out like a bell.

"Leaving so soon, _dog_?"

"Let him go."

I was shocked at the words for a moment before I realized that they came from my own mouth.

"What?" Alice gaped.

"Let him go." I repeated. "It's not worth it."

_Thank you, Edward. I'm sorry about this. Tell Bells that I love her… and… you can tell Charlie that you didn't fine us and that I'm still out there with her somewhere. That should buy you guys some time to get Bella out of here before Charlie figures out what's going on…_

Jacob's thought's disappeared with him as his footsteps faded into the forest. Moments later, the silence was broken by a long, distant, devastating howl.

Alice's light touch found my shoulder and gave me a reassuring squeeze as I clutched Bella's body to my own. She was still out cold, which was good… considering that she wouldn't be able to feel the pain that would soon consume her body.

Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were present in the clearing now also. They gave me space as I clutched Bella to my chest and buried my head in her hair.

"She's going to be okay." Alice smiled, her thoughts showing no sign of falsities.

I didn't doubt Alice. I knew that Bella would… that we would be alright. It was just a matter of time now. Three days worth of time, to be specific. But after those three days, we would have eternity, and that was all I could have ever asked for, even if it wasn't exactly the way we planned.

The end.

* * *

I don't know if I am going to be writing anymore after this, guys. I don't have a lot of people reading anymore (and if they are, I'm not getting the feedback.) and I don't want to push my luck. Quit while you're ahead, right? I set too high of goals for myself and I'm not reaching them lately. I don't find the potential in myself that I would like to, so idk if I will be continuing…

I appreciate your support though. If I come up with any other ideas (which by all means, if you have any requests or ideas - let me know) I might write some more.. But as of right now, I am not sure.

If you're new to my writing… the rest of it is here if you care to read any of it.

Thanks guys.

-Twiction (aka, Megan.)


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